25-26.11.2015 Lecturing about community archaeology

I love lecturing about ARCHAEOLOGY. But this time I felt like it almost got the best of me ;)

Very different atmospheres, very different spaces far away from each other both mentally and geographically and only 24 hours to do it... A challenge indeed, at least if you try to take in the audience and give it your best (and add the very short time of daylight in Finland this time of year).

First off was Hanko S Finland "Hangö Brankis"  where I was awarded a grant (for 2015) from Spabanksstiftelsen i Hangö for my conflict archaeology project of the German WWII camp in Tulliniemi. The welcome was overwhelmingly friendly with some 200 people participating.

As I had to prepare for my upcomng lecture in the town hall (an hour later) I was not able to participate for more than half an hour. I really would have liked to stayed to watch the program but...

"Hangö Brankis"

Lecture one in Hanko (Hangös stadshus Foajén) was for a very motivated group of some 50 locals (in Finnish) about the conflict archaeology of "Deutsches Lager Hanko". Two hours passed by in a flash with great discussions afterwards. Then a two hour drive home back to Espoo in the dark and (early) bedtime at 24hrs.

Hangö stadshus "Foajén".

The next morning I woke up at 06 a.m. and headed for Helsinki city centre  and the University of Helsinki were I was expected to hold  lecture about Science Education and Community Archaeology. Professor Hannu Salmi welcomed me in the wonderful late 19th century Auditorium.

Helsinki University (Pengerkatu 1)

To my great surprise university students just kept coming and coming, finally filling the whole Auditorium (some 150 places), a lot more than I had expected! After professor Salmi´s almost 90 minute lecture it was my time to hit the stage in front of a a somewhat stressed out croud. The original seats in the very old auditorium are from "h-ll".

Science Centre Education in HEUREKA.

Not at all prepared for such a large academic audience I really had to "go for it" in the beginning but after about 20 minutes I felt I got contact and at the end of my presentation we finally had some lovely constructive discussions with the students. Phew... :)

Clay Idols (and Conflict Archaeology) with University students.

Home again after all this, feeling good. "Learning by Doing"...  Me too :)

Planned community archaeology digs in 2016!

A few community archaeology digs are already planned for 2016! No previous knowledge of archaeology or fieldwork is required! More info as things progress. The number of participants/day is limited. Letters of interest are most welcome  email jfarchaeology@gmail.com !


Raseborg Malmkulla 16-22.5.2016.

Trial excavation of an early comb ceramic dwelling site (ca 3900 BC) near the town centre in Karis SW Finland. . Organizers are probably Karis Musei- och Hembygdsförening and Sällskapet Natura and possibly local shools and other local institutions.

Ka I:2 pottery of the same type found during the earlier small scale excavations of the Malmkulla site by archaeologist Anja Sarvas in 1979.

"Deutsches Lager Hanko" 27.6-17.7.2016.

Conflict archaeological excavation of the former German WWII transition camp in Hanko, Tulliniemi. Arranger Hangö Sommaruniversitet.

The excavation in Hanko is probably the largest community archaeology excavation in S Finland in 2016!

Jokiniemi 2015 revisited

Finally,  it´s time to start sorting and cleaning last summers amazing finds from the neolithic dig in Jokiniemi, Vantaa S. Finland!

The cleaning and sorting of the finds  will take place during two days (a weekend) in december 2015 at HEUREKA the Finnish Science Centre. All participants will be informed about the event in the very near future!

It´s time to meet Your wonderful findings once again and give them the perfect clean.

MORE INFO SOON!

Tomorrow it´s back to "Deutsches Lager Hanko" again

This time the visit is about tourism, safety of visitors participating  on guided tours on site, and the WWII heritage of the German transition camp in Hanko in general. I would like to add the question of ethics when organized guided tours of the area are being planned. What is the history we would like to put forward to the visitors and what are the relevant questions that need to be addressed before putting a guided tour together.

German Gebirgsjäger in Hanko in 1944. Photo SA-kuva.

From the start of my conflict archaeology project in Hanko I have emphasized the need to reach out and to give the general public access to all the data that the project might bring. The idea has all the time been to involve schools and local institutions in the work to uncover their WWII heritage.

Excavating Deutsches Lager Hanko with history enthusiasts. Photo Japo Knuutila.

The town of Hanko has been very supportive to the idea from the very beginning, an exhibition displaying the finds from the excavations will be shown in Hanko in 2018 among other happenings commemorating the dramatic WWII history in the area. I´m very hopeful we can reach an agreement on how to present the remains of the camp to the general public, safety first.

German troop carriers, carrying German soldiers back to the Reich on so called "Heimaturlaub". Photo SA-kuva.

I will post fresh phtos of the site tomorrow!